ALL: Would you accept a "straight" character coming out late in life?

[Khan]

If no one puts up a fuss over this one? I will seriously be pissed, lol.

[Soapsuds]

I was about to say . That would definetly be a NEW storyline for Nancy...lol

[Chris B]

Katie, Henry and Nancy are girlfriends, so I could see them taking her out to a gay bar for fun. Who knows, Nancy could see someone and who knows...

BTW, I completely disagree with anyone who thinks Stephanie Forrester is a lesbian! I think they dress her like a man because it's comfortable. I recall Flannery was very happy to be able to wear her natural hair and not have to dye it or wear a wig. She's a simple woman, but Stephanie is not. Stephanie wants to have sex with her own son! That's not a lesbian in my book.

I *wish* the writers would allow her a new love interest, but I feel sexism is at play. That old goat Eric can date his granddaughter, but Stephanie is left to pine after her son, be alone or beg Eric to take her back. Also, look how young Ridge's kids are compared to Brooke. It would totally make my day to see Stephanie hook up with...say Clarke? That would be HOT and a lot of fun!

ETA:

I would also FORCE Flannery into a dress once and a while. She can keep her trainers on, under the dress. She's not too big.

[Khan]

For some reason, that just cracks my you-know-what up.

[stenbeck212]

Who in the world would they put Nancy Hughes with? She was in Oakdale before they got electricity, so the age is as big a factor as sexuality.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

For some reason, Nancy as a lesbian has me flashing back to the last season of Roseanne where Roseanne's mother (played by the divine Estelle Parsons) came out of the closet at Thanksgiving.

[DeeeDee]

Nancy Hughes/Susan Stewart = OTP.

[Faulkner]

Exactly, and they are ALWAYS holier-than-thou. God forbid any gay or lesbian teen have an edge. GH almost went there with Lucas before they chickened out.

Bob Hughes? YES! Don Hastings is quite a sexy daddy.

[DevotedToAMC]

Sure why not

[DeeeDee]

Or Saints.

[All My Shadows]

My whole idea for the Zarf storyline was that he'd go out to bars and clubs as Zoe (kinda like Viki going out as Nikki), and one of those nights, she has a few drinks with Josh, they get close over some weeks, it all builds up, and then Josh learns that all the while, he was attracted to someone who was born a male. Then there'd be conflict...would they stay together, would they not stay together? That sort of thing.

And then we'd get to hear Erica dish out some fabulous zingers such as..."Well, Josh, I already have a long-lost child...and I already have a gay child. What quota shall you fill?"

[bellcurve]

On B&B, I could easily see Felicia Forrester just coming out and saying..."Mom, dad, I'm GAY and I LOVE KITTY!" Not sure if Lesli Kay meant to play the scenes this way, but when she encouraged Ridge to date Ashley, she was practically all but wet talking about her. And the whole, "If you like her so much, why don't you date her line," with Felicia kind of having that curious look on her face did it for me. Not to mention Eileen and Lesli's chemistry was off the charts.

I could also see Thorne having a male fling too, but Winsor Harmon would NEVER play that.

[JamesF]

This is a really fascinating thread. I particularly agree with Faulkner's comments that the soap press seem oblivious to Stephanie Forrester's transformation over the years. With the rewrite of Douglas family history and childhood abuse, it's almost been suggested that Stephanie has simply transformed into her father but it doesn't sit particularly well with the character as she was originally intended. In the early days, she was written as beautiful icy blonde (almost like a middle aged Hitchcock heroine) who was a pinnacle of class and obsessed with keeping up appearances. Somewhere along the line she morphed into the aggressive crew cut and pantsuit we know today who has a habit of ruining the Forrester reputation with tasteless public diatribes.

If they were willing to address this in a lesbian story I'd be all for it but they seem to go to great lengths to avoid any mention of Stephanie's physicality so I don't see it working. It's a weird situation because if I was Brad Bell I'd either have addressed it or forced Flannery to maintain some feminine wardrobe for the show. Sneakers for closeups and heels for the longshots. It brings all these lesbian issues to play because it's so distinctly a choice on Susan Flannery's part. She has a perfectly dressable figure for a woman of her age and her hair could be styled more appropriately for the show even if she prefers it slicked back in real life.

Revisiting Katherine Chancellor, I'd still buy her having a lesbian relationship even now. In some cases when older people enter same sex relationships, it's just as much about companionship as being secretly gay. If sex becomes less important, so physical attractiveness is less of an issue and I can see Katherine taking up with another woman. I'd love Y&R to have the balls to do that kind of story.

Looking towards the younger crowd on soaps, I think bisexuality would be perfectly easy to play for a lot of characters. Felicia Forrester screams the type of girl who would have sex with men and women if only as part of a her rebellion. She totally would show up at a fashion show with a female model on her arm. I also think it would work to have some of the the gigolo type characters like David Vickers to have been known as gay for pay.

[JackPeyton]

i agree. Maxie on GH as well, i see her at a club metting a girl and taking her home just like she would with a guy. Max Brady on Days is another one. When rachel Kimsey was in the role for some reason i saw Mac on Y&R as going both ways as well.

[Greg's GL]

I could definitely accept a story like this. I have a few friends that have come out later in life (mid-30s to early 40s) that got married at a young age, had children, etc. And it's not that they "became gay" as time went on, they were always gay. They just got married because they couldn't accept their sexuality at the time.

The same type of story could be done on soaps. If the writers are thoughtful and handle the story with respect, it could come of very believable. Of course, we're in a soap world now wherein most writers and producers want stories told much faster than a story like this one should be told.

It would be completely unbelievable if GL did one of their infamous "Inside the Light" episodes on a character like Bill or perhaps Gus, that in one hour we learn that he's always been attracted to men, but got married out of fear of his sexuality. The story should be told gradually, old-school style and I think that viewers would buy it. JMO.